You might be wondering what trends will be in the online marketing space in 2022. Truth be told, it’s not necessarily a new phenomenon for marketing trends to be cyclical. However, the rise of digital marketing and the speed at which the web evolves might mean that this year’s trends will be especially prominent. Here’s a quick look at the major trends that will affect your business in the coming year.

1. Growth Hacks.

Growth hacks are all the rage in marketing these days. Essentially, growth hacks are strategies that you can use to grow your blog, website, or social media accounts at a rapid pace. The reason why people are so keen on growth hacks is that they allow you to test new ideas and tactics quickly and efficiently without the need for lengthy trials and errors. Essentially, it’s the perfect scenario for anyone looking to get their hands on some quick results without delving too deeply into the details. What’s more is that you don’t necessarily need a large amount of traffic to reap the benefits of a growth hack. As a matter of fact, you might end up exceeding your target audience, resulting in even more benefits.

2. Video Content Is On The Rise.

It’s well known that video content is on the rise. In fact, according to HubSpot Blogs research, 79% of consumers have watched videos on a mobile phone, tablet, or computer. Additionally, 68% of consumers have watched video content on a connected TV. Given that video content is so prominent on our screens, it’s no surprise that marketers are scrambling to ensure that their content will stand out. A great place to start is with video content creators. With a little bit of research and planning, you can ensure that your videos will be of high quality and draw in and retain your target audience. Moreover, since consumers are spending more time watching videos and engaging with them on social media, marketers should be sure to incorporate videos into their social media strategy.

3. Personal Branding.

Thanks to the rise of influencers and content creators, it’s no longer just enough for your product to be good; you need to have a strategy behind the brand messaging in order to ensure that it resonates with your target audience. After all, you can’t expect other people to connect with your brand if you don’t connect with them first. In this way, personal branding will become even more essential. Essentially, you need to find your strengths and motivations, as well as the goals you want to achieve as a brand, then craft a message that aligns with all of that. Moreover, since consumers are learning to trust and believe in the opinions of others more, influencers and content creators can provide valuable insights into what resonates with audiences, driving growth and sales while also establishing you as a thought leader in your industry. In short, with more people relying on influencers and content creators for their information, it’s an ideal opportunity to gain credibility with potential customers and gain brand loyalty.

4. Authentic Long-Form Content.

It’s well-established that consumers love content that is bite-sized, short, and sweet. That’s mostly because consumers have such short attention spans. However, while short content is great for gaining attention and engaging with potential customers, it might not be the best for in-depth, detailed content. People have longer attention spans than ever before, which means that they’re willing to invest more time in the content that they view. In fact, 78% of consumers have watched a video to the point where they felt compelled to click on a related link or purchase a product that was promoted in the video. Moreover, since people are learning to value the opinions of others more, those seeking influencers can benefit from the fact that they can gain credibility from a short video that demonstrates their expertise.

5. Influencer Marketing.

Depending on the topic, you might end up with a ton of articles and videos on your website. Naturally, this can be a bit overwhelming for a reader or viewer. To ensure that your content is easy to find, you can explore the option of influencer marketing. Essentially, with this strategy, you work with a network of influential people that can help bring in more traffic to your site while also increasing your brand awareness. In other words, with influencer marketing, your content becomes easier to find and more prominent among your target audience.

6. Increased Mobile Use.

Consumers have shifted to using mobile phones for almost all of their daily tasks. As a result, marketers should take advantage of this by creating content that can be viewed on a mobile phone. Naturally, this means that you need to make your site or blog mobile-friendly. Moreover, since people are using fewer devices and more frequently relying on just a single one, creating content for only one platform might become even more beneficial. For example, Snapchat users create and share short-form videos that can only be viewed on mobile phones. Therefore, marketers should ensure that they have content that can be shared on a variety of platforms, from web to social media.

7. Video SEO.

If you have a blog, you know how important search engine optimization (SEO) is for driving organic traffic. However, video content is even more prominent on search engines than static content, meaning that it will naturally rank higher than almost any other form of content. In other words, SEO applies to video content just as much as it does to any other type of content. Fortunately, with video SEO, you don’t necessarily need to have a million-dollar budget to obtain top rankings on popular search engines. Instead, you can use free tools like Google Search Console, which can be accessed from your Google Admin dashboard. With these tools, you can track the performance of any type of content published on your site, from blogs to videos. Moreover, you can use the tool to submit your site to over a hundred different search engines, including Google, Bing, and Yandex. To that end, with video SEO, you can take advantage of the fact that people are relying more and more on online video to learn about and order products, resulting in even more opportunities for you to capture an audience.

8. Content Sharing And Repurposing.

Since everyone and their mother is creating content these days, it might be difficult to stand out from the crowd. This is why content sharing and repurposing will become even more important in the coming year. Essentially, this strategy will allow you to repurpose content from one platform to another, using a tool such as Buzzfeed’s Canva to easily create visual collages. Moreover, with content sharing, you can essentially publish content anywhere, and when someone clicks on that content, they’re taken to a new platform or website where they can learn more about your product or service. In fact, over half of consumers (55%) have shared content on one site, while 30% have shared content on multiple sites. In other words, content sharing will become even more prominent as people increasingly seek to educate themselves about products and services through varied and sometimes contrasting perspectives. To that end, marketers should try to incorporate content sharing and repurposing into their strategy, since this will help them reach a wider audience and establish their site as a thought leader in their industry.

9. Video Tutorials.

Video tutorials are still relatively new, but they are growing in popularity every day. As more people seek to learn about products and services through narrated videos, video tutorials will become an even more prominent feature of an online marketing strategy. To that end, marketers should consider creating video tutorials for each of their products, ranging from general overviews of the product to in-depth how-to videos that walk their users through the process of installing the product. Moreover, since people are seeking information and educational content online, video tutorials can also be accessed through an SBL membership, resulting in even more potential consumers.

10. Personal Branding Is Essential.

It’s well-established that personal branding is essential. However, since people are seeking to learn more about and purchase products from expert sources rather than just a brand, personal branding will become even more prominent in the coming years. To that end, marketers should build their personal brand through thought leadership, digital marketing, and social media, among other areas. Moreover, since people are learning to value the opinions of others more, those seeking credibility as experts can gain credibility by creating videos that demonstrate their expertise.

The rise of digital marketing and the speed at which the web evolves means that this year’s trends will be especially prominent. Here’s a quick look at the major trends that will affect your business in the coming year.